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Falmouth planning board delays proposed solar-canopy project after fire department flags safety and storage violations
Summary
A Next Grid-backed plan to install three solar canopies and battery storage at 709–737 Gifford Street drew praise for reusing disturbed land but was met with a firm fire-department referral citing combustible storage, insufficient apparatus access and water, and drainage concerns; the board continued the hearing and asked the applicant to respond point-by-point.
Kieran Healey, a land surveyor with the BSC Group, presented a Next Grid proposal on June 9 to install three solar canopies, electrical equipment pads and a battery-storage system at 709–737 Gifford Street, a site currently used for boat, RV and self-storage. Healey said the design includes paving the existing driveway, milling and overlay of pavement, a 36-chamber subsurface infiltration system sized to manage a 100-year storm, and an 18-foot clearance under the canopies to allow fire-department access.
"We performed the storm water analysis and have designed the subsurface infiltration system consisting of 36 Culttech storm water chambers to manage storm water runup," Healey said, describing the planned drainage approach and noting the canopies will be placed over existing storage areas to minimize new disturbance.
The Falmouth Fire Department, through a written referral read into the record by the clerk, opposed the project "at this time." The referral, signed by Captain Ryan Gavin, listed multiple safety concerns: combustible storage on the property (wood chips, milling operations, full-length log storage), over 15 trailers observed during the site visit, inadequate access and water for firefighting, canopy clearance requirements, and uncertainty whether drainage controls would prevent spread of hazardous materials into the water system in the event of a fire. The referral also said propane tanks and fuel-storage practices would need permitting and that gasoline should be pumped out before long-term boat storage if allowed.
Board members used the hearing to surface related issues: several noted that the site’s historical permits appear to allow only boat storage (and only for marine businesses), not general RV or contractor storage; staff and members flagged enforcement questions about current onsite uses and asked the applicant to clarify ownership, operations and whether any storage trailers or contractor-yard uses exist on portions of the property. Charlotte and Pat expressed that the application was not ready to approve until the fire and engineering referrals were addressed; others voiced support for solar on already-disturbed sites but agreed that safety and permitting questions must be resolved.
The board voted to continue the special-permit and site-plan review to July 7 and asked the applicant to submit revised plans and written responses to each referral at least one week before that meeting. The board also requested that staff and the applicant coordinate a site visit and that the applicant confirm coordination with Eversource (or appropriate utility) for relocation/transmission work.
Why it matters: The proposal would add local solar generation and battery storage to a site that is already disturbed, but the fire department’s referral raises operational and safety questions that are material to whether the canopies can be approved on this property. The proposal also touches on unresolved enforcement and permitted-use issues for the existing storage operations.
Next steps: Applicant to respond point-by-point to fire, engineering and planning referrals, coordinate utility review, and return to the board at the July 7 meeting.
